Write an essay and get a chance to win a trip to New York

Flags outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City (image by USAID, used under CC license)

ELS Educational Services, Inc. has announced the fourth year Many Languages, One World Student Essay Contest and Global Youth Forum, 2017, organized in conjunction with UN Academic Impact (UNAI). The competition will qualify contestants for a chance to win a trip to New York and Boston, to participate in the UN Global Youth Forum and present their ideas in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations in New York City, followed by the Northeastern University Global Youth Conference in Boston, MA.

The goal of competition and forum is to support multilingualism and to recognize the continued impact of the six official languages of the UN: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

How to participate
Entries to the essay contest should be in one of the above languages, and should not be in your first language (not the language you speak at home, nor the medium of instruction in your education). The essay length should not exceed 2000 words. The essay should explore how multilingual ability advances global citizenship and cultural understanding, and should reflect your academic, cultural and national context.

Full contest details, rules, entry guidelines, and the faculty reference form are available here.The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 31, 2017.

Eligibility criteria
You should be a student, 18 years of age or older, and currently enrolled in a full-time degree program at university. You should be recommended by a university faculty member or authorized university representative in order to participate.

Selection of winners
For this year’s contest, 10 winners will be chosen from entries in each language – that means a total of 60 winners. ELS Educational Services, Inc. will award each winner an all-expenses-paid trip to Boston and New York City from July 15-26, 2017. Students will attend a Global Youth Forum in preparation of presenting their views at UN Headquarters in New York City.

At the Global Youth Forum, the students will create plans of action addressing selected topics. These international delegates will also have the opportunity to interact with invited international scholars and tour Boston and New York City.

About last year’s competition
2017 will mark the fourth edition of ‘Many Languages, One World’. In 2016, more than 9,000 people from 165 countries took part. Sixty students from 36 countries, representing 54 universities, were selected as winners. More than 350 students participated from India, and 4 made it to the finals.
Winners attended international universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), Yonsei University (South Korea), and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France). Their fields of study included art, human rights, medicine, engineering, law, business management, communications, international relations, and linguistics.

‘Many Languages, One World’ winners at the United Nations Headquarters in 2015

About ELS and UNAI
ELS Educational Services assists international students achieve their personal and professional goals through English preparation and study skills. United Nations Academic Impact is a global initiative that aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations in furthering the realization of the UN’s purposes and mandates through activities and research in a shared culture of intellectual social responsibility.

About Northeastern University
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global, experiential, research university that offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs. The 2017 edition of US News & World Report ranked Northeastern tied for 39th in the National Universities category.
For more information about the competition, click here.